U.S. News & World Report presented its annual “Best Cars for Families” Awards to recognize vehicles “that offer the best combination of quality, space and family-friendly features.” And two of our favorite vehicles were included in this year’s honors.
The 2013 Honda CR-V was praised because of its “impressive safety and reliable ratings make it a smart choice among affordable compact SUVs.” Also, “the Honda CR-V shines with nimble handling, a spacious interior and a standard rearview camera.” Add to that the standard Bluetooth Handsfreelink and you can start to see why the CR-V is in the top of the list for families.
Meanwhile, the comfortable seating, seating configurations and roomy cabin made the 2013 Honda Odyssey stand out among the pack. The publication noted that people raved about its “car-like performance” and excellent safety features.
Our favorite minivan, the Honda Odyssey, was re-introduced to the world at the 2013 New York International Auto Show as a thoroughly refreshed 2014 model, setting the new standard as the “ultimate family vehicle.” What will you find in our showroom this summer? Besides a host of exterior, interior and safety upgrades, the 2014 Odyssey will bring something never before seen in a vehicle.
At the NYIAS, Honda displayed the 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite to demonstrate all of the new and improved features. Behind the scenes, Honda updated the structural integrity of the vehicle to help it achieve TOP SAFETY PICK+ status. The Touring Elite will also come with advanced safety features like an expanded view driver’s mirror, Forward Collision Warning (FWC), and Lane Departure Warning (LDW).
As far as exterior styling goes, the new Odyssey will look sleeker and more sophisticated with a more deeply sculpted hood, new front fenders, bolder twin-bar grille, refreshed lower front facia with integrated chrome e-trimmed fog lights, darker-finish projector-beam headlight housings, and LED taillight bars.
Inside the 2014 Odyssey you will find an all-new center stack and new finishes. On the Touring Elite you’ll have an array of new standard technology like keyless Smart Entry with Push Button Start, HD Radio, SMS text messaging function and HondaLink.
Now the feature that will push you from wanting the Odyssey to needing the Odyssey is the first-ever in-vehicle vacuum system, the HondaVac. Honda partnered with industry leader Shop-Vac to develop the innovative HondaVac which will come standard on the Touring Elite trims. You will find the vacuum integrated in a dedicated space on the driver’s side bulkhead of the rear cargo area. The powerful vacuum comes with a replaceable filter, canister bag and expandable hose with attachments, and can reach every corner of the vehicle’s cabin – is that amazing or what?! The HondaVac runs on an electric motor that doesn’t need an outlet or recharging, it operates continuously when the engine is running and can continue to operate for up to eight minutes when the Odyssey is turned off.
Watch all of the action in the new 2014 Odyssey in the video after the jump:
After a year of no love shown to Honda by Consumer Reports, we’re back in business for 2013. In fact, Honda picked up three slots on this year’s Top Picks list; chosen from more than 280 vehicles the publication recently tested.
Earning a Top Pick status from Consumer Reports is no easy task. Each Top Pick has to excel in the road test, earn an average or better predicted-reliability rating, and perform adequately in independent safety tests conducted by government or insurance agencies.
The Consumer Reports’ Top Honda Picks for 2013 are:
Have you heard of the ACEEE ranking system? Standing for American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the ACEEE every year recognizes and ranks the greenest cars in the market. For 2013, five Honda vehicles earned a “green” recognition. These include the Honda Fit EV, Insight, Civic Hybrid, Fit and Odyssey.
The Fit EV, Insight and Civic Hybrid made the list of ACEEE’s 12 most “greenest” vehicles, while the 2013 Honda Fit and Honda Odyssey were named as “greener choices of 2013.”
The ACEE ranking system uses many different factors when determining the green factor of a vehicle. Among them are the vehicle’s fuel economy, pollution impact, as well as global warming and upstream emissions. The result is a list that contains some of the best and most efficient cars on the market today.
Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda is very committed to the efficiency movement as can be seen from the new car lineup that it produces year after year. “Honda’s vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is reflected in our environmental slogan of “Blue Skies for our Children,” inspires us to lead and innovate in every aspect of our operations, from our product engineering and manufacturing practices to our upstream sales and service activities,” said Steven Center of American Honda.
Sporting great fuel efficiency and a great overall ride, these Honda vehicles (expect for the Fit EV, boo!) can be found right here at your favorite Austin TX Honda dealership.
The fairest minivan of them all (or at least our favorite) has another crown to put on its shelf. This time the Honda Odyssey has won Cars.com’s annual Best Family Car of the Year award for its awesomeness.
The 2013 Odyssey was selected in the company’s Lifestyle Awards for Best Family Car of the Year. Now how does a vehicle land this great award? Well, Cars.com has its due process – not any car can claim a Lifestyle Award.
For one of these awards, a vehicle must first selected as one of Cars.com’s Best Bets. Best Bets have:
1. ratings of Acceptable or higher in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash tests,
2. a reliability rating of average or higher,
3. strong ride and handling, and
4. average or better gas mileage for its segment.
The Odyssey excels in all of those areas and more. That is why it was named Best Family Car of the Year. The minivan designers knew which features would keep parents happy (safety, great storage, entertainment, great mileage, flexibility and functionality), which is why the Odyssey is the best minivan in the market today.
You need to check out all of the features that the 2013 Honda Odyssey offers if you’re a parent in the market for a minivan. It seriously rock.
Come check it out at Howdy Honda by easily scheduling your test drive here.
If safety is what you’re looking for in your new car, you can bet you have it in a 2013 Honda. In fact, you can actually take your pick among the lineup of eleven 2013 Honda models because they all passed the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash tests with the highest possible ratings.
The completely redesigned 2013 Honda Accord (sedan and coupe) took the crown among all earning a TOP SAFETY PICK+ by passing the new small overlap frontal crash test which now has more aggressive and stringent guidelines. This test replicates what happens when the front corner of a car crashes with another vehicle or an object (tree, utility pole, etc.). And the new Accord is one of the first vehicles ever to earn this safety rating.
If you’re looking for something that the Accord doesn’t offer, do not worry because the 2013 Civic Sedan, 2013 Fit, 2013 Crosstour, 2013 CR-V, 2013 CR-Z, 2013 Insight, 2013 Pilot, 2013 Odyssey and 2013 Ridgeline were also named TOP SAFETY PICK by the IIHS. All of the models earned the top rating of GOOD in the four rating areas tested.
Honda has a long history of engineering advanced safety technology and designs into their products. This commitment stems from their goal to be a company that society wants to exist. We’ve made this commitment as well. Although we can’t manufacture vehicles, we CAN and DO try our absolute hardest to be the Honda dealer in Austin that the city wants to exist. I hope you can help us achieve this goal (in your safe Honda, of course).
UPDATE: The redesigned 2013 Honda Civic (both sedan and coupe models) have earned the Top Safety Pick+ recognition as well! This is the first small car in the US to achieve the enhanced safety pick status, making Honda the only automaker to offer four different vehicles with Top Safety Pick+ marks.
If you thought that Honda had already perfected the minivan, just wait until you see the 2013 Honda Odyssey. The new Odyssey continues to provide class-leading fuel economy while offering the technological conveniences your family loves. The new Odyssey is in Austin waiting for you to take it for a spin.
The 2013 Honda Odyssey is powered by the most powerful engine ever which provides performance, fuel efficiency and low emissions. So much so that the Odyssey Touring delivers an EPA city/highway/combined fuel economy rating of 19/28/22 MPG, the highest of any eight-passenger minivan.
And while the efficiency can save you money, the high safety ratings will keep your peace-of-mind. The Odyssey was honored as a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and earned a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Not only that, it was also MotoWeek’s Drivers’ Choice Award for Best Minivan, included in “10 Best Family Cars” by Kelley Blue Book, and in Parenting magazine “Smartest Family Cars.”
Now one of the things that will have you and your family really excited is the standard technology the 2013 Odyssey offers. Every new Odyssey comes equipped with a rearview camera, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink, Bluetooth audio, USB input, and an 8-inch intelligent Multi Information Display (i-MID). The Odyssey also has available features like XM Radio, Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System with voice recognition, subscription-free FM traffic data, Zagat restaurant guide, rear entertainment system, and Blind Spot Information system (BSI).
The 2013 Honda Odyssey is carrying on the legacy of the past models by continuing to be the best minivan on the market. Roomy, efficient and safe – everything you are looking for in a minivan.
Can wait to see it? You can easily schedule a test drive online and be on the road and in the Odyssey in no time.
You may not know this little fact, but Honda has been in the states for three decades and stays in America to manufacture 85% of the vehicles it sells here. Now, the Honda Research & Development facility in Ohio is taking on an important role as our engineers are being assigned more critical responsibilities.
What started as just developing different body styles of cars that were first made in Japan, the crew has slowly been involved in more work. They began developing Acura models as well as light trucks, like the Honda Pilot and Honda Odyssey. Now the team has earned the responsibility of developing two very important cars for the future of Honda: Acura NSX supercar and the Honda Civic.
“It’s been a step-by-step process,” said Honda R&D Americas President, Erik Berkman. “It takes a long time to transplant the culture, beliefs and know-how of a company into new soil and then execute it consistently and at a high level.”
Overall, the decision to trust American engineers with the development of cars that are staples in the American culture makes sense. Being that Honda makes 34% of its global sales in the U.S., Canada and Mexico; development and production in the U.S. is a smart move. In this way, Honda becomes more of an American company as it employs American workers all over the country to build and develop the Honda lineup for the American consumer.
For some summer means time to go to the beach and relax, for this Honda dealer it means time to get rid of almost the entire 2012 Honda in stock to make room for brand new 2013 models.
Here are the deals we have going on now through August 31st:
This is the time to come out and look into seriously considering a 2012 Honda. You are welcome to give us a call at 512-443-4300 to schedule a test drive or you can easily schedule it online!
Honda won four Total Car Score awards, in addition to three Vehicle Satisfaction Awards.
Honda has done it again, and this time five 2012 Honda models took home two distinct reputation awards: three models received the AutoPacific’s 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards and four models were awarded Top Scoring Awards from Total Car Score.
The cars scoring highly on the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) included the 2012 Honda CR-V, Honda Odyssey and Honda Pilot. These scores were taken from over 75,000 customer surveys, meaning actual owners of the vehicles did the ranking. Since the VSA’s are completely based on owner input, it’s an accurate measurement of how satisfied new owners are. And we can’t think of a better way to get an accurate ranking of a car than from someone who actually drives it on a daily basis.
The Top Scoring Awards went to the 2012 Honda Ridgeline, Honda Fit, Honda Odyssey and Honda CR-V. This award comes from Total Car Score, which turns the ratings cars receive from trusted automotive sites into percentages. These percentages translate into a car’s Total Car Score, a score used by shoppers to compare vehicles.
“It’s fantastic to have so much of Honda’s outstanding product line represented in these awards,” said American Honda VP of Marketing Michael Accavitti.
These awards can give you a sense of how new Honda owners feel about their car purchase and they demonstrate how well regarded Honda products are. If you want to come and check one out for yourself, let us know! You can call us at 512-443-4300 or schedule a test drive online. We can help you get in the best and most reliable car in the market.
Howdy Honda is a friendly car dealership that takes great pride in our our Texas roots. We make a personal commitment to every customer that visits our dealership that they will be treated warmly with the utmost dignity and respect. We want our customers to be customers for life which is why they are considered part of our Honda family. View and leave us a testimonial about your experience.
Here at Howdy Honda we are always updating our list of Hondas that are on sale in Austin TX. If you find a car on sale that you are interested in don’t hesitate to see what we can offer you for trading in your car. You can also fill out our car loan credit application to see what kind of financing is available for your budget. If you are looking for auto parts or automotive repair in Austin Texas we can help you get your car back on the road as well.
Enjoy your visit... We are Howdy Honda... Austin friendly and Texas proud!
